It’s a well-known fact that French women generally win in the style arena, especially when it comes to exercising effortless chic in her every day look. Enter Garance Dore, a French-born illustrator-turned-fashion blogger whose career skyrocketed in 2006 when she launched her site garancedore.com. It didn’t hurt that she was one half of the industry’s coolest couple (her former boyfriend is none other than street style photographer Scott Shuman, aka The Sartorialist), but it was her refreshingly real voice that struck a chord with fashion fangirls ‘round the world.

Her honest tone unwavers to this day, and nowhere is it more prevalent than in her new book, ‘Love Style Life,’ where she explores personal style lows (“I am 27 and I am super extra broke.”) and highs (“I’m 39 and I have reached fashion mastery!”). She mocks the time she shaved her head, waxes nostalgic about then days when H&M was “a luxury,” and fully explores the insecurity that inevitably comes with dressing to impress your first crush when you’re a teenager.

In short: Dore is the real deal. Which clearly is her secret to being so effortlessly chic.